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A contractor red me out as a subcontractor to do work on a…

Customer Question

A contractor hired me out...

A contractor hired me out as a subcontractor to do work on a property but i didn't have a contract with the contractor that hired me. I have done work with him all year and i had no problem getting paid. When it came to this particular job in July 2015, it was a high amount of 20,000 dollars he only paid me 7,750 dollars out of the 20,000 dollars. I have no contract but i have all the pay stubs he has gave me. Can i put a lea on the homeowner's house to try and get the remaining amount of money?

Experience: 32 years of experience as lawyer in Texas. I'm also a Real Estate developer.

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Good afternoon John. My name is ***** ***** I look forward to helping you.

In New Jersey, a subcontractor does have the right to place a mechanic's lien on the property. BUT, under NJ law, anyone that does not have a direct contract with the owner should file a Notice of Delivery of Materials and Services with the Owner and Prime Contractor within 20 days of starting work on the Project. So, the question of whether or not you have the right to file such a lien is going to depend upon whether you filed this Notice. BUT, here's the thing...even if you could file a lien, in order to collect you still need to file suit to prove your claim; otherwise the lien simply lapses. So, given that, you should just proceed to sue your contractor. Filing the suit will give you the collection options and leverage you need to collect the debt owed you. That's because once the suit is filed and a judgment awarded, you become a judgment creditor, and if he doesn’t then pay the judgment, you can have the sheriff serve a summons on him for a debtor examination. That forces him to meet you in court again and answer questions under oath about his assets. After that information is obtained, you have the power to garnish wages, attach bank accounts, have the sheriff seize other personal property, and/or place liens on any non-homestead property he owns to satisfy the judgment. In my experience, simply filing the suit is typically all you need to do to resolve this outside of court because most of the time, once served with a summons he is being sued, your contractor will pay you rather than to fight a suit he's sure to lose. And, to give you more leverage, I would add a cause of action for fraud alleging an intent from the outset not to pay you, which will make you eligible for punitive damages and make it very difficult for the contractor to get bonded.

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The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).